Tweed Echo – Issue 2.18 – 14/01/2010

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THE TWEED SHIRE Volume 2 #18 Thursday, January 14, 2010 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 Fax: (02) 6672 4933 editor@tweedecho.com.au adcopy@tweedecho.com.au www.tweedecho.com.au

THE NORTH COAST’S REAL ESTATE GUIDE Pages 23–26

LOCAL & INDEPENDENT

High-rise gateway Mop set for the big charity chop on the horizon Tweed Heads could be book-ended by high-rise buildings under sweeping new plans unveiled by a governmentappointed taskforce last week. The draft plan allows buildings up to 24-storeys close to the border and lifts a three-storey limit on the southern end to enable two 17-storey towers to straddle the road and create a Gold Coast-style gateway. The radical changes aim to revive the town by encouraging the redevelopment of ageing buildings and construction on several vacant blocks which pock-mark the run-down central business district. The draft Tweed Heads Local Environment Plan (LEP) will go on public exhibition next week and council staff will start meeting with community groups and consultants next month to explain the details.

it a vast improvement on what we had before,’ he said in reference to the 2004 Tweed Heads master plan which the government refused to adopt for undisclosed reasons. ‘Hopefully it will help breathe new life into the place, especially with plans to restore the Jack Evans Boat Harbour already underway.’ Cr Polglase warned however that parking requirements could still inhibit developers from achieving the full potential of the new rezonings and was a serious impediment which needed to be addressed during the consultation process. Tweed Heads Residents’ Association president Laurie Ganter says the new vision for the town will please some and upset others, with the southern creep of high-rise and restrictions preventing expansion of the Council’s civic centre certain to spark comment.

New blueprint

High rise to the south

It is being released at the same time as wider changes to planning laws contained in a long overdue shirewide LEP which also goes on public exhibition, providing a new blueprint for the first time in 10 years. Among the big winners in the Tweed Heads rezoning stakes are the von Bibra car dealer ship site, property owners on the other side of the road and the Twin Towns Services Club where three-storey limits have been scrapped in favour of high rise. Mayor Warren Polglase says the plan should finally provide a firm direction for developers after years of uncertainty and hopefully lead to an economic revival mirroring the success story of its cross-border rival at Coolangatta. ‘We welcome the plan and consider

‘The plan fairly closely resembles the 2004 master plan with high rise mostly confined close to the border apart from some notable exceptions, including new zonings for high rise on part of the southern end of town,’ he said. ‘The plan also protects the civic centre as a heritage building and appears to allow no scope for future expansion even though it was built even before Banora Point was developed and its library and meeting facilities are woefully inadequate to meet today’s demands.’ He predicted that the shire-wide LEP would probably generate more controversy, particularly the apparent proliferation of what appears to be new four-storey limits in towns and

Ken Sapwell

Sacha Yarrow has been growing his dreadlocks for years but is willing to chop them off for cancer research. Photo Jeff ‘Living In Dread’ Dawson. Kim Cousins

You may have bought fruit and vegies off local Sacha Yarrow at Murwillumbah’s Tweed Fruit Exchange, but be prepared to see a little less of him by the end of March. The 29-year-old musician is setting out to raise $10,000 in the Leukaemia Foundation World’s Greatest Shave. ‘I’ve got a lot of hair to take off,’ he said. ‘There’s about a metre’s worth.’ Sacha has been growing his dreadlocks for ‘at least 10 years’ and figures it’s time for a change. ‘I thought, it has to be cut at some stage,’ he said. ‘I may as well help someone when I do it. ‘I’m hoping I’ll get a bit of money with the mop I’ve got.’ continued on page 2 The big chop is pencilled in for

March 11-13 or later if Sacha hasn’t hit the $10,000 mark by then. ‘I’m hoping people will get behind it,’ he said. ‘It’s going well so far.’ Sacha, who, likes ‘all sorts of music done well’ spends much time on his recording studio at his parent’s Byalgum farm. Money raised by Sacha will go towards leukaemia research and treatment. Since it began in 1998,

the World’s Greatest Shave has raised more than $93 million and helped to support patients and their families suffering from leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood disorders. To make a donation, visit Tweed Fruit Exchange, Riverside Pizza or the Style Shop in Murwillumbah or visit www.worldsgreatestshave.com.

Major sport events set for 2010 The Tweed is set to be home to new major sporting events including the ‘Battle on the Border’ (cycling), Kingy Tri (triathlon) and the popular Casuarina Cup (Touch Football) as well as athlete high performance programs this year. Tweed Shire Council, QSMSports

and Tweed Tourism have commenced initial talks and planning to bring a new program of three marquee sporting events and development programs to the Tweed which will grow over time bringing 12,000 participants to the Tweed by 2012. continued on page 2

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